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“Bob Honey Who Just Do Stuff” and America’s Image

This spring, Sean Penn released his new book “Bob Honey Who Just Do Stuff” , it is a satirical novel that appears to take aim at the issues facing the U.S.. This month, Penn sat down with Trevor Noah and Vogue Magazine to talk about the book. Though Noah said that the book is hard to describe, it is a clear stab at the current political issues in the U.S. which Penn has never been shy of talking about. Penn told Noah that the book looks at the “dark side of human nature” and how humans can be easily fascinated with dark and fascist tendencies. The book is about Bob Honey, a very angry American who looks at the world through pessimistic eyes. Bob has a very unique side job, he goes on mallet wielding sprees, killing older citizens that he thinks stand in the way of progress.

Penn told Vogue, that the book sits on a parallel plane to the #METOO movement, and this seems apparent as Bob witnesses many current events in the U.S. For example, Bob experiences the presidential election of 2016, and later even writes an angry letter to the elected president, telling him how unfit he is for office. Penn tells Noah that the book looks into the desire many people have to serve their country, even if they are misguided or lack purpose. Bob seems to be this, and this could explain why he goes on these murder sprees for the name of “progress.”

Aside from just talking about the book, Penn fills in the listeners about what has happened in his life over the last few years, and what may have inspired his book. First off, Penn talks about his anger towards Trump’s comments about Haiti and other developing countries. He then goes into his friendship with the late Hugo Chavez, and the state of affairs in Venezuela at the moment. Penn wraps up the interview by criticizing the U.S.’s war on drugs, and how he felt that interviewing el Chapo was crucial for his understanding of it.